The Giants concluded a disappointing 6-11 season on Sunday at MetLife Stadium with a 27-10 win over the playoff-bound Philadelphia Eagles. To their credit, the Giants played hard and with a purpose through the final weeks. Yet their flaws and needs are evident.
The Giants began their off-season on Monday by firing siblings Drew Wilkins and Kevin Wilkins, special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey and offensive line coach Bobby Johnson. Drew Wilkins was the Giants outside linebackers coach and Kevin was a defensive assistant.
The New York Post was the first to report that the dismissal of Drew caused Giants defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale to curse out head coach Brian Daboll. Drew was Martindale’s closest colleague and multiple reports have stated Martindale’s resignation is imminent. There was no official announcement before the AmNews went to press.
As far as player personnel, paramount is the return of quarterback Daniel Jones from a torn ACL in his right knee which happened on November 5 in Week 9, healthy and operating the offense with the wise decision making, careful protection of the football, and athletic plays with both his arm and legs as he did in the 2022 season. The Giants were 9-7-1 and defeated the Minnesota Viking in their wild card matchup.
Secondly, constructing a sturdy offensive line. Comparable to Jones, it starts with the physical condition of 2022 All-Pro left tackle Andrew Thomas, who played in only 10 games this season due to injury. The offense is also in need of an elite wide receiver. They will likely use their No. 6 overall pick in the draft, which will take place in downtown Detroit in April (25-27), to select LSU’s Malik Nabers or Washington’s Rome Odunze, whichever of the two is still available when the Giants pick.
They could consider drafting a quarterback as it is unclear if general manager Joe Schoen and Daboll, who were both hired for their current positions in January of 2022, view Jones as their long-term QB. Next season will be the second year of Jones’ four-year, $160-million deal signed in March of 2023 that was essentially structured as a two-year contract. Jones was drafted by the Giants’ previous general manager Dave Gettleman with the No. 6 pick out of Duke in 2019.
There is also the status of running back Saquon Barkley to be addressed. The Giants placed the franchise tag on Barkley, which he eventually signed in July after intimating he would sit out the season. They can franchise him one more time so that the 26-year-old, Bronx-born, No. 2 overall pick in 2018 by the Giants plays on a one-year deal as he did this season.
Barkley is seeking a pact similar to the three-year, $42 million extension with $26.5 million guaranteed that Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor inked in October.
“Again, Saquon and I will talk about that. [The franchise tag is] a tool we have at our disposal,” said Schoen speaking with the media on Monday.
“When we redid his deal before he came to camp, that wasn’t taken out of that deal. It wasn’t a ‘Hey, we’ll do this but no franchise tag’ so that’s an option that we have on the table. We’ll have those conversations; I’m not saying we will, or we won’t. A lot of those conversations will be had over the next month or so.”